Aëtius of Antioch (; ; ; ), surnamed "the Atheist" by his
trinitarian enemies, founder of
Anomoeanism, was a native of
Coele-Syria
Coele-Syria () was a region of Syria in classical antiquity. The term originally referred to the "hollow" Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, but sometimes it was applied to a broader area of the region of Sy ...
.
Life and writings
Aëtius grew up in poverty or slavery.
[Philostorgius, in Photius, ''Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius'', book 3, chapter 15.] He later worked as a goldsmith in Antioch to support his widowed mother and studied philosophy. After his mother died, Aëtius continued his trade and extended his studies into the Christian scriptures, Christian theology, and medicine.
After working as a vine-dresser and then as a goldsmith, he became a traveling doctor, and displayed great skill in disputations on medical subjects; but his controversial power soon found a wider field for its exercise in the great theological question of the time. He studied successively under the
Arians, Athanasius, bishop of
Anazarbus, and the presbyter Antonius of
Tarsus. In 350 he was ordained a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
by Leontius of Antioch, but was shortly afterwards forced by the trinitarian party to leave that town. At the first
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
of
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...
he won a dialectic victory over the
homoiousian bishops, Basilius and Eustathius, who sought in consequence vainly to stir up against him the enmity of
Constantius Gallus
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus (326 – 354) was a statesman and ruler in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire from 351 to 354, as Caesar (title), ''Caesar'' under emperor Constantius II (), his cousin. A grandson of emperor Constantius ...
. In 356 he went to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
with
Eunomius in order to advocate Arianism.
Here he is said to have debated Manichean
Aphthonius of Alexandria so vigorously that the latter died after the encounter. Aëtius was afterwards banished from Alexandria by
Constantius II
Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...
.
Julian recalled him from exile, bestowed upon him an estate in
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...
, and retained him for a time at his court in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. Being consecrated a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
, he used his office in the interests of Arianism by creating other bishops of that party. At the accession of
Valens
Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...
(364), he retired to his estate at Lesbos, but soon returned to Constantinople, where he died in 367.
Anomoean sect
The
Anomoean sect of the Arians, of whom he was the leader, are sometimes called after him ''Aetians''. His work ''De Fide'' has been preserved in connection with a refutation written by
Epiphanius (''
Haer.'' lxxvi. 10). Its main thought is that the
homoousia, ''i.e.'' the doctrine that the Son (therefore the Begotten) is essentially
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, is self-contradictory, since the idea of unbegottenness is just that which constitutes the nature of God.
In one of his treatises,
Saint Basil the Great writes against the Anomoeans led by Aëtius, whom he describes an instrument in the hands of "the enemy of truth".
[''Against Eunomius'', Book I]
See also
*
Aetia gens
Notes
References
*
Harnack, A. ''History of Dogma'', vol iv, ''passim'' (reference in EB11)
*''
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
'', ''s.v.'' Aetius.
*''
La Grande Encyclopédie'', ''s.v.'' Aétius d'Antioche.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aetius
4th-century Christian theologians
4th-century Romans
4th-century Arian Christians
Nature of Jesus Christ